Shooting 3- Slap Shot
The slap shot is the most impressive looking shot in hockey. A hard slap shot, to the top corner from the blue line is most players' dream shot. Unfortunately, too many people practice this so much that the other, often more useful, techniques are neglected. This doesn't mean that players don't need to practice the shot, but only that they shouldn't forget that there are other options (and, in fact, that the other shots all go towards making your slap shot better).
The slap shot begins much the same as any other shot, though perhaps with a slightly wider stance. You should start by weighting your rear leg, keeping the puck (most often) behind the middle of your stance. Your bottom hand should be lower down your stick than you would have it for a wrist shot. Most players tend to shoot with their bottom hand at the middle of their stick, or just below, but you will find the height that works best for you (though I would suggest trying the above height, and definitely avoid putting your hand too high).
As you weight your rear leg, raise your stick behind you. You don't necessarily need to raise your stick too high (e.g. until the shaft is vertical), as most often keeping the blade below or at shoulder height is all you need. Remember that the higher your windup, the longer the windup takes, and that it is very embarrassing to have the puck poke checked away from you as you take your shot because you took too long in the windup.
After the windup, begin to bring the stick down to hit the puck. As you do this, start to transfer your weight forwards onto your front leg. Your stick should make contact with the ice about an inch or two behind the the puck. This causes the stick to bend, 'loading' the stick, so that as the shot is released the puck is propelled harder. You should make contact with the puck at the rear of the blade and complete the shot, almost exactly the same way as in a wrist shot, closing the face of the blade as the puck leaves your stick to give the puck the correct spin so that it flies well though the air, also helping to get it off the ground. You may find that your rear leg needs to come off the ground to counter-balance the shot. The height of your follow-through will determine the height of you shot
As I mentioned at the beginning, the slap shot is an impressive looking shot, that is quite often over-practiced. Most players will find that they really don't often get the opportunity to use this shot during a game, as most of the time they do not find themselves with enough open ice to make the windup without being checked by an opponent. However, it is crucial (particularly for a defense player) to have the ability, if given the chance, to take a nice hard low slap shot at the net for a tip-in or rebound opportunity (although you need to get your teammates in front of the net for this). Remember that since the slap shot shares so many aspects with the wrist and snap shots, you are making your slap shot better by practicing these others, and that it is extremely rare for a player with a poor wrist shot to have a good slap shot (no, simply lifting the puck off the ice does not make your shot 'good') .